Best John Schembari Podcasts (2025)

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Hoe to Teach the Power of Words Through Poetry (Jewellyn Forrest) 28:42

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1h ago28:42

28:42

Poetry isn’t just “beautiful prose” — it’s a doorway into critical thinking, voice, and perspective. In this episode, I sit down with Jewellyn Forrest, national writing consultant and co-founder of Autonomy Learning, to explore how poetry — and especially figurative language — can: ✔️ Help students “read between the lines” ✔️ Unlock reluctant write…

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How to Develop a Learning Classroom (Alice Vigors) 40:52

4h ago40:52

40:52

Too often, I see learning objectives on the board that say “Students will think about…” — but how do we actually know what students are thinking? This week on the Podcast, I sit down with returning guest Alice Vigors, author of The Thinking Classroom and her brand-new book The Learning Classroom. We dig into how teachers can make thinking visible b…

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How to Improve the Collective Efficacy of Teachers (Jenni Donohoo and Glenn Forbes) 39:16

3h ago39:16

39:16

When Teachers Believe—in Themselves and Each Other—Students Thrive This week on the podcast, we sit down with Jenni Donohoo and Glenn Forbes to discuss their new book, Collective Impact: Overcoming the Twelve Enemies of Teacher Efficacy. We explore how collective efficacy—educators’ shared belief in their power to impact student learning—creates sc…

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How Outdoor Learning Helps Students Thrive (Shannon McLeod) 30:04

14d ago30:04

30:04

In this episode, we are joined by Shannon McLeod from Thrive with Outdoor Learning for an inspiring and insightful conversation about the power of taking learning outside the classroom. We cover the how, why, when, and what of outdoor learning—from practical strategies to deeper reflections on its benefits for students' well-being, engagement, and …

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How to Bring the Joy Back When Teaching Numbers Sense (K-8) 40:01

28d ago40:01

40:01

Our kids are drowning in math failure — and it starts shockingly early. By grade 3, too many students already believe: “I’m just not a math person.” The culprit? Timed tests that reward speed over thinking, worksheets that kill curiosity, and assessments that feel like traps, not opportunities. We’re creating a generation terrified of math. The SNA…

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How to Evaluate Students Through Competency Based Learning 41:48

1M ago41:48

41:48

Are we grading what really matters? In most cases, no. In this episode, we sit-down with Karin Hess, Jonathan Vander Els and Brian Stack - authors of the book Elevating Competency-Based Learning in a PLC at Work - to discuss how competency-based learning and grading can help educators provide students with a clear pathway in learning both standards…

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We Will Be Back for Season 3 in August 2025! 1:57

3M ago1:57

1:57

We hope you have enjoyed season two. We will be back with brand new episodes and a third season in August 2025. In the meantime, please feel free to catch up on any of our past episodes. Music - Aylex

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How to Build Confidence and Connection to Math (Susan Midlarsky) 31:27

3M ago31:27

31:27

In this episode, I talk with educator and author Susan Midlarsky about her book The Art of Learning Math: A Manual for Success. We explore how math can be more than numbers—how it can help students see patterns in life, solve problems creatively, and rebuild confidence after math-related stress or trauma. Susan shares: How recognizing relationships…

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How AI Chat Bots Can Increase Student Creativity (Ken Kahn) 34:38

3M ago34:38

34:38

In this episode of the podcast, we chat with a pioneer in the AI space - Dr. Ken Kahn. Ken walks us through the amazing ways we can increase student creativity through the use of high-powered AI chat bots, not reduce it. We discuss how students can create games and simulations to demonstrate their knowledge of concepts in all core content areas, wi…

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How to Raise a Citizen (Lindsey Cormack) 30:51

3M ago30:51

30:51

Drama critic George Jean-Nathan once said that "Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." Although 47% of all young people eligible to cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election did so, 53% did not. How did we get here? Professor Lindsey Cormack, author of the book "How to Raise a Citizen" believes that this situation, overa…

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How to Support New Educators (Jenn David-Lang and Kim Marshall) 34:51

4M ago34:51

34:51

In this episode of the podcast, we speak with authors Jenn David-Lang, the Main Idea, and Kim Marshall, the Marshall Memo, about their work in curating the "best of" resources available to educators - particularly leaders working with new teachers as well as new teachers interested in self-growth. New teachers need certain supports beyond what Davi…

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How to Prioritize Learning Strategies Not Preferences (John Hattie) 34:07

4M ago34:07

34:07

In this latest episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast, we chat with education researcher John Hattie - professor at the University of Melbourne. We discuss, despite evidence suggesting it is ineffective, the continued prevalence of the theory of learning styles and preferences and targeting instruction for individual students towards a specifi…

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How to Prioritize Your Teaching Day (Ellen Linnihan) 29:55

4M ago29:55

29:55

We waste so much time as educators during the working day. If we are not chatting with colleagues during our prep periods, we are often using many of our precious minutes in our prep periods planning how we will use our prep periods. Teacher Ellen Linnihan, author of the book "Teacher Time Management - How to Prioritize Your Day So You Can Enjoy Yo…

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How to Teach High School Students Executive Functioning Skills (Johanna Tramantano) 24:24

4M ago24:24

24:24

In an earlier episode, we spoke with Stanford University Professor Robyn Brinks Lockwood on how to better prepare high school students for the rigors of college communication and discourse (making presentations/speeches). In this episode, college professor and former high school ELA teacher Johanna Tramantano also sounds the alarm as it relates to …

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How to Help Students Tell Stories That Stick (Dana Seith) 17:10

4M ago17:10

17:10

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by journalist Dana Seith, co-creator of the bold new storytelling card game Tell Me a Story — made in collaboration with The Bitter Southerner, We’re not just talking games — we’re talking transformation. In this episode, we unpack: - The five essential elements of unforgettable narrative storytelling - How stor…

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How to Develop a Strong School Culture in 6 Steps (Samuel Nix) 39:29

4M ago39:29

39:29

This week on the podcast, we are joined by chief academic officer Samuel Nix who discusses his book - 6 Stepa to a Strong School Culture: A Leadership Cycle for Educational Success. Nix should know - having taken, as principal, his school to the top 30 in the nation. Too often, says Nix, school leaders go from crisis to crisis rather than developin…

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How to Teach Effectively through WALKTHRUS: Bringing Rosenshine's Principles to Life (Tom Sherrington) 37:27

5M ago37:27

37:27

Brak Rosenshine first published his Principles of Instruction in 2010 through the International Academy of Education (IAE) as part of their Educational Practices Series (booklet No. 21). Taking his years of research, Rosenshine paired down what good teachers do to obtain good academic outcomes: review, chunk information, question, model, guide prac…

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How to Support Multilingual Learners in STEM Classrooms (Darlyne de Haan) 35:38

5M ago35:38

35:38

Per our next guest on the podcast, MLL/STEM specialist Darlyne de Haan, there are over 900K high school MLL students in the USA - a large number of these students living in poverty (2014). While Algebra and other STEM classes can catapult students into lucrative STEM careers, still, only a very small percentage of MLL students take these courses. I…

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How to Teach Primary Students Five Math Superpower Understandings (Patrick Sullivan) 38:03

5M ago38:03

38:03

Do You Know What the Superpower Understandings in Math Are? Recently, I wrote an article for ASCD about modeling Math through a gradual release framework. A common way through which to do this is to teach Math conceptually, representationally, and then abstractly (CRA Framework). However, there are other frameworks that help students understand Mat…

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How to Implement a High School Summer Reading Program (Katie Gillies and Beverly Zbinden) 34:47

5M ago34:47

34:47

In this episode, we speak with Niles North High School Summer Reading Program leads ELA teacher Katie Gillies and librarian Beverly Zbinden. While summer reading may help reduce the potential student summer learning slide, Gillies and Zbinden discuss their true purpose in creating this ambitious project at North Niles High School - a large and dive…

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How to Infuse Art and Creativity in K-12 Core Content Learning (Cheri Sterman and Elle LeBlanc) 38:38

6M ago38:38

38:38

Earlier in the second season of this podcast, we had as a guest Bo Stjerne Thomsen of LEGO Education discussing the importance of play in creative learning. In this episode, we continue our look at creativity in learning by discussing how to infuse art in the four core -content areas. In this discussion, we are joined by Cheri Sterman, Director of …

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How to Help Secondary Students Develop a Math Identity (Jennifer Lenhardt) 37:35

6M ago37:35

37:35

When students ask where are they EVER going to use the Math they are learning in middle and high school, there is usually something deeper going on; And that is a disconnect in, disinterest, and lack of curiosity in learning Math which manifests itself in misbehaving students. So says, Jenn Lenhardt - author of the book Common Denominators: Cultiva…

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How Educators Can Share Their Voice (Douglas Fisher) 41:23

6M ago41:23

41:23

The other day, I was speaking with a colleague with whom I co-moderated a LinkedIn Live event, a year or two ago, on supporting multilingual students. She told me that, recently, someone reached out to her from across the country for support. I was so excited by this. I also get excited when people reach out to discuss my occasional online posts pr…

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How to Integrate Reading and Writing in a Secondary Science Class (Daniel Argentar, Katherine Gillies, and Maureen Rubenstein) 34:56

6M ago34:56

34:56

As one of our next guest on the podcast, Daniel Argentar says, students need to know something to learn something. Students need to be able to read and write to be able to internalize scientific information. In this episode, we are joined by the authors of the book Reading and Writing Strategies for the Secondary Science Classroom to discuss the mo…

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How to Create Effective AI Prompts as a Teacher (Paul Cancellieri) 36:19

7M ago36:19

36:19

AI can really help teachers plan more engaging lessons in a time conscious manner. In this episode, we speak about how AI can help teachers to plan engaging lessons with North Carolina based science teacher Paul Cancellieri. Cancellieri is the author of the new book - 50 AI Prompts for Teachers. We discuss in particular: - Why it is important for t…

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How to Integrate Play-Based Learning Into Your Teaching (Bo Stjerne Thomsen) 30:25

7M ago30:25

30:25

How to Teach Using Play Based Learning In this episode, we chat with Bo Stjerne Thomsen - Director of Education for LEGO Education and former VP with the LEGO Foundation - about how teachers can integrate physical objects (manipulatives) and play-based learning across all content areas. We also discuss: What Play Based Learning Is How it Helps Stud…

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How to Respond to Book Bans as a Librarian/Educator (Amanda Jones) 30:13

7M ago30:13

30:13

Parents should always have the right to decide what books their student can read. But school system wide book bans are bad for children. So says our next guest on the Have a Life Teaching Podcast, former ALA librarian of the year Amanda Jones. In this episode, Jones - author of the book "That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in the United …

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How to Teach the Science of Reading to PK-3 Students (Steve Underwood) 33:36

7M ago33:36

33:36

While oral language development is a process that occurs naturally, over time, the written word is a complex human produced system that, therefore, requires a systematic approach to decipher - or read. So says this week's guest on the podcast, Steve Underwood. In this episode, Underwood, former senior director of professional development with NWEA …

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How to Co-Teach Effectively (Belinda Karge and Matt Rhoads) 42:10

7M ago42:10

42:10

Effective coteaching has so many benefits for students, particularly in terms of inclusion for students with special needs and for bilingual learners. So say today's guests on the podcast - Belinda Karge and Matt Rhoads - who are the authors of the book "Co-Teaching Evolved". Listen here to our conversation with Karge and Rhoads as we discuss sever…

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How to Help Students Take Ownership of Their Own Learning (Aaron Hansen) 37:32

7M ago37:32

37:32

Too often, at best, students are compliant with school directives and, at worst, actively defiant much like inmates in a minimum security prison. So says, today's guest, Aaron Hansen - author of the book "Heroes Within" - on this episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast. In this episode, we speak with Hansen about ways through which teachers can…

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How to Guarantee You Are Using a Deep Knowledge Curriculum (Nathaniel Swain) 39:43

8M ago39:43

39:43

In some schools, curriculum is prescribed. In other places, teachers put together their own learning materials. In either case, how do we know that what we are providing students, in terms of materials and content, will promote learning acquisition, extend thinking, and foster creativity? How do we know that it aligns with the science of learning? …

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How to Enhance Student Curiosity in Your K-2 Math Classroom (Chepina Rumsey and Jody Guarino) 28:20

8M ago28:20

28:20

Too often, we think of early primary learners as empty recepticles to be filled. However, this is when creativity and ingenuity is most unfettered and/or non self-conscious. How then can we draw out what early primary students already know and think about Math? How might we get students to make conjectures and extend their thinking? I hope you will…

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How to Teach the Holocaust in the 21st Century (Maud Dahme, Mike Pawloski, David Modigliani, and Catherine Clark) 48:23

8M ago48:23

48:23

How and Why Still Teach the Holocaust? After all, it has been 80 years since the liberation of the concentration camps and end of WWII. Unfortunately, the answer to this question is very simple. Look at the world around us where hate and prejudice continue to thrive. As such, I hope you will listen in to this special episode where we ask several pe…

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How to Ground Your Teaching in Best Practice Research (Nathaniel Hansford) 33:47

8M ago33:47

33:47

Knowing research can help us to determine if what others may be telling us to do in our teaching is in the best interest of us and our students. So says, Nathaniel Hansford, a teacher in Canada and author of the book "The Scientific Principles of Teaching", In this episode, Hansford talks about the importance of aligning our teaching practices to w…

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How to Create Digital Projects that Elevate Student Voice (John Arthur) 40:21

9M ago40:21

40:21

In this episode, we chat with John Arthur, former Utah teacher of the year, current 6th grade teacher in Salt Lake City, and author of the new book "The Digital Projects Playbook." Join us here as we discuss not only the benefits of project based learning, a topic we also have discussed in earlier episodes, but also how and why to turn projects int…

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How to Develop Your Capacity as a Servant Leader (David Gaston) 31:41

9M ago31:41

31:41

Leadership within 21st Century schools should be different from what those of us in Generation X or before experienced of our school leaders says my next podcast guest, David Gaston. Gaston is founder and CEO of Gaston Educational Consulting LLC and a former district superintendent in Charles City, Virginia. He also partners with Commonwealth Learn…

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How to Ensure Great City Schools (Tracey Quarles and Michael Casserly) 39:24

10M ago39:24

39:24

Urban schools are vitially important for ensuring the strength of our overall economy as well as the growth of democracy says Michael Casserly, former executive director and current senior consultant of the Council of Great City Schools, on this week's podcast. On this episode, Casserly discusses his new book - The Enduring Promise of America's Gre…

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How to Use Physical Objects in Student Historical Inquiry (Leslie Hayes) 37:09

10M ago37:09

37:09

In this episode, we are joined by Leslie Hayes, Vice-President of Education at the New York Historical Society. Hayes discusses how even the simplest item - a Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee Cup for example - can unleash deep and engaging student conversation on what everyday items tell us about the cultures we currently live in as well as about past times…

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How to Design Community Informed Schools (Jenee Henry Wood) 37:27

10M ago37:27

37:27

For too long, schools have been designed using either a top down or bottom up approach; top down where administration makes all system decisions or bottom up where leadership is responsive to parent needs and wishes. However, in each model, important stakeholders are missing from the decision making table - students, families, leadership, teachers,…

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How Schools Can Create Systems To Weather the Unexpected (Geri Parscale and Darcy Kraus) 35:59

10M ago35:59

35:59

Did you know that two out of every three students will experience a traumatic event before they reach the age of 16? Trying to be clearheaded during a crisis is difficult. As such, schools must therefore be prepared to address the unexpected before the unexpected happens. But how to prepare for all of the unknowns that can befall our students and t…

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How Schools Can Support Grieving Students (Lindsay Schambach) 37:39

10M ago37:39

37:39

Did you know that November is Children's Grief Awareness Month? Or, that 1/12 U.S. children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18? Grief is a normal part of life, and schools must find ways to support students experiencing it. Join my next guest - Lindsay Schambach , CEO of the NJ based Imagine Grief Support Center - and I as w…

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How to Activate Math Talks in Your Elementary Classroom (Paola Sztaijn) 33:04

11M ago33:04

33:04

Dr. Paola Sztaijn is Dean of Education at North Carolina State University and co-author of the book - Activating Math Talk: 11 Purposeful Techniques for Your Elementary Students. In this episode, Paola and I discuss the four types of Math discourse as well as how/when to plan for each type so that math conversations between our students are meaning…

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How and Why to Teach the "Hard" Election Process (Jeremy Kaplan) 29:45

11M ago29:45

29:45

Given the contentious nature of this election season and the accompanying polarization, humanities teachers could be forgiven for not wanting to teach the election process. Yet, if we onlt teach the past, including hard pasts like slavery, then we never prepare students for the hard present which can help them to engage effectively as involved citi…

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How to Use Questioning to Maximize Student Curiosity and Engagement (Erik Francis) 41:26

11M ago41:26

41:26

In this episode, I am joined by Erik Francis, author of the new book Inquiring Minds Want to Learn. In our conversation, we discuss not only how to use questioning as a form of assessment but, perhaps more importantly, as a tool for maximizing student interest and engagement in learning. We also discuss what is wrong in how we are using Depth of Kn…

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How to Design Your Student Assessments in Five Easy Steps (Nicole Dimich) 39:34

11M ago39:34

39:34

Assessment of student learning is critical if we are to get a true sense of what students know and can do before, during, and after teaching. Join me and my next guest, Nicole Dimich, as we discuss her book - Design in Five. We discuss five steps for creating more effective assessments that are both more engaging to students and involve student sel…

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How to Think of Teaching as a Series of Building Blocks (Gretchen Bridgers) 33:57

11M ago33:57

33:57

Join me and my guest Gretchen Bridgers and I as we discuss her latest book - Always a Lesson. In it, and in our conversation, Gretchen discusses the four building blocks of teaching that must be considered, in order, for teaching to be successful. These blocks, or'bricks", include lesson design, class management/systems, student engagement, and, ul…

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How to Coach Teachers and School Leaders as an External Consultant (Gene Tavernetti) 30:28

12M ago30:28

30:28

There are times when school systems need to rely on external support to improve instruction and student outcomes. While external consultants often bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in what works in schools, it can be difficult to gain the trust of educators in that many educators are suspicious when it comes to coaches/consultants having a…

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How to Teach Students About Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship (Tevan Asaturi) 36:54

12M ago36:54

36:54

Increasingly, financial literacy standards are being adopted across school districts and states. Join me and my guest Tevan Asaturi, Founder and CEO of Money Mastery University, as we discuss the need to teach financial literacy across K-16 - particularly in middle school, high school, and beyond - both as a necessary life skill and as a way to eng…

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Will Be Back with More HALT Content in August! 0:40

1y ago0:40

0:40

Hi Everyone! Thanks for listening to season one of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast. In July 24, I'll be continuing to edit great content that I hope you will enjoy in August and beyond. The podcast will be back in August/September on a limited schedule - as I will be working overseas in September - and returning full force with season two content …

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How to Teach Students About Slavery (Adam Andre) 36:34

1y ago36:34

36:34

In this episoode of the Have a Life Teaching podcast, Adam Andre - museum participation facilitator at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool - and I discuss how and why we should not shy away from teaching students about historical slavery nor its ongoing impact on our world today. We discuss: - Liverpool's connection to the transatlantic s…